Air-gun.



A. V. DICKEY.

AIR GUN.

APPLlcATxoN F1110 Nov.30, 1914.

Patented July 18, 1916 WHA/5885s.?

TTOHA/EY ARTHUR v. DIGKEY, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON s i lam-GUN.'

Lierse?.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ratemtea Juny is', ieee.,

'appl'icatiomea November 3o, 1914. serial No. 874,668.

T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR V. DICKEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, inthe county of King and State of Washington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Guns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates `to air guns and specifically to improyements inthe gun of this type illustratedv and described in United States Patent ,No 1,026,303, issued to -me May 14, 1912; and the objectv of the invention is to simplify and perfect the construction of such devices in various particulars 'venient to operate. v

specification.

and renders them more serviceable and con- The invention consists in the combinations of the various devices, the construction and operatlon of whlch are hereinafter setforth 'in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings forming part of this In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an air-gun embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 lis a top plan 'view thereof. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a longitudinalelevational view, partlyl in section, of the i breech-block shown detached.

The gun barrel 2 lis secured'to a junction member 3 having a cylindrical cavity to receive a rotary breech-block 4. Extending forwardly from said cavityis a port 5 in axial alinement with the bore of the-"gun-A barrel, and at the rear of the cavity is an opening into the magazine for the projectiles B. At the `top of saidcavity is an opening f6 through which projectiles may be' 'ntroduced, and atxits lower side the cavityv communicates with an air reservoir 7 through a passage 8. Thebreech-block 4 has formed.

therein a passage with openingsv9 and -10 arranged in rectangular relations, as shown.

in Fig. 1. The air-reservoir 7 is connected by a duct llswith a chamber 12 which, in turn, is connected with ythe discharge end of` a pump cylinder 13.` The spring-pressed check-valve 14 is adapted to prevent any re-v turn of air from the chamber 12 to the' pump. Ac relief valve, indicatedjby 15,. is

utilized to 'exhaust the air from the pump into the external atmosphere, and is pro-Y vided with a stem 16 wherebyv opening or closing of the valve is effected.; The re-` ferred to projectile magazine is in the 11atu're of a tube 17 which is" inserted in. a tubular casing- 18 and securedtherein by a. bayonet connection comprising a pin 171 on the tube engaging in an angular slot 181 provided in the casing.

The projectiles are urged forwardly and 'against the peripheral surface of the breechblock 4 by means of a spring 20 acting in the tube 25 is a hammer 26 which is operated by a main-spring 27 interposed bes tween said hammer andra plug 28 provided with screw-threads, and engaging screwthreads within the tube inl adjustable ,positions vto regulate-the effective power of`the\` spring. The power of this main-spring i's, however, less than that of the spring 23," so that while thev momentum of rthe hammer will be' suiiicient when striking the ring pin 24 to unseat the controlling valve, the spring 23 quickly asserts its superior ,power to reseat the valve and thus prevent any waste of the compressed air when discharging the' gun. The momentum of the hammer is moreover, influenced by means which I provide for regulating the throw of the hammer so that the controlling valve may be opened to-a greater or less extent to release from the reservoir various quantities of coml pressed air according to the velocity at i which a projectile is discharged; to which end the hammer-block is provided' in its ,lower side `with a 4series of spaced notches 29, 291 and 292 which are selectively engagedby detent 30 provided on an arm of a bellcrank lever 31 to releasably hold the hammer C i at predetermined distancesfrom the -firing pin. The lever 31 is fulcrumed by a pivotal pin 32 and has a. depending arm 311 which is connected by a pull-rod 33 vwith a trigger 34 which is fulcrumcd` to avpin 35.

The spring 36 acts against the trigger to retain the same and the lever 31 in operable positions. Hammer 26 has at one side a stud 37 which extendslaterally through a tudinal reciprocating movements on a guide ridge provided at the side of the air reservoir. At its upper edge, the actuator is provided with rack-teeth 41 and at a distance in front thereof is a lug 42. rlFhe teeth 41 mesh with teeth 43 provided on the end of the breech-block, whereby the latter is rotated during the terminal portion of a forward movement of the actuator to carry the opening 9 of the block passage into position to receive a projectile B from the magazine and also serves, during the early .portion of a rearward movement of the actuator, to returnthe breech-block into the position in which it is represented in Fig. 1. When the actuator is thrust rearwardly,

the lug 42 of the actuator encounters one of the teeth 43 of the breech-block to arrest the same in position to have the-passage opening 9 thereof register with the barrel-bore.

To compensate for the different positions at which it is desired to set the hammer, the actuator is provided with a sleeve 391 for a rod 44 which is secured in adjusted position by a set-screw 45. rlhe actuator is reciprocated by means of a knob 392.

As shown in Fig. 4, the mouth 91 of the opening 9 of the breech-block passage is advantageously formed of a diameter greater .than the remainder of the passage so as to accommodate a projectile in such mouth of a size larger than would pass through the passage. The reference numeral 46 designates a relatively weak spring protruding into the mouth 91 of said passage for preventing the accidental falling out of a proj ectile. The breech-block 4 is provided with a stem having a knurled head 47 whereby the block may be rotated to present the opening 9 of its passage to the hole 6 when it is desired to supply a projectile thereat instead of from the magazine.

ln order to accomplish the partial turning of the breech-block, the actuator must first be shoved forward suiiicient to withdraw the stop 42 out of the orbital path of the block teeth 43.

A pin 48, Fig. 4,.protrudes from the periphery of thebreech-block into a circumferential groove 49 (Fig. 2) formed inthe member 3, said groove terminating at la shoulder 491 disposed to stop the rotation of the breech-block when the passage opening 9 thereof is in position to receive a projectile from the magazine 17.

rlhe-pump plunger 50 is secured to an end of a piston rod l51.which is connected by a link 52 with a lever 53. rlfhis lever is fulcrumed at its forward end by a pin 54 to the underside of the gun-frame against which it is laid when unemployed, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1. rlhe lever serves as a pump handle to operate the plunger through the medium of the link 52 and rod 51. j

rlhe operation of the invention is as follows: rlfhe reservoir is charged with air under compression by means of the pump which is operated by swinging the lever handle 53, causing the air to be drawn into the cylinder 13 through'inlet hole 5G when the plunger 50 is drawn to the forward end of the cylinder and expelling the air under pressure into and through the chamber 12 when the plunger is moved toward the other end of the cylinder. lVhen the reservoir and the communicating chamber are charged with, air under considerable pressure, the lever-handle 53 ismost conveniently moved against the gun-frame by opening the valve 15 for exhausting the air between the checkvalve and the pump plunger.

To use the gun as a repeater, the actuator 39 is moved forward bylthe operator, there-4 by forcing the hammer 26 into a position regulatedby adjusting the extension or rod 44, at which it is desired to have the detent 30. engage a selected notch of the hammer. As this occurs, the teeth 41 of the actuator engage the teeth 43 on the breech-block, resulting in the turning of the 'latter approximately 180o or until the passage outlet 9 is in register with the magazine. A projectile is thereupon forced into the counterbore 91 of such outlet and is carried into position to enter the barrel when the breechblock is returned to its original position by the retraction of actuator 39.

A To fire the gun, trigger-34 is pulled to effect the withdrawal of the detent 30 from a hammer notch, as 29. rl`he hammer being thus released, is driven rearwardly by the spring 27 striking the firing-pin 24 and by its momentum causes the controlling valve 22 to be forced back from its seat in opposition to the spring 23. A blast of air is thus delivered through the breech-block passage to discharge the projectile. rllhe spring 23, being stronger than the spring 27, is only momentarily. overcome by the striking effect of the hammer and recovering, serves to rapidly close the valve 23.

To employ the gunas a single shot rifle, the hammer is thrust "forward into detentengaging position by the operator pushing it with the stem 37. The actuator is then deposited thereon. The breech-block is thenv rotated back to carry the projectile intoy position to be driven through the barrelby an air-blast attained by a trigger pull, as above explained. s

To uncock the gun, the yoperator pulls the triggerwith vthe finger of one hand whilereceiving the impact of the hammer, through stem 37, in his other hand, and' allowing the hammer to recede slowly against the ring-pin 24.-

l Having described-my invention, what I claim, isf l. In anair-gunof the class described, an air-reservoir, a valve for controlling the de.- livery of the air from said reservoir for discharging the gun, a hammer, springs for the hammer and'valve, means to releasably hold the hammer in various positions relatively t to the valve, a' reciprocatory actuator, and devices adjustably connected to said actuator whereby thelhammer is movable thereby to any of the aforesaid positions with auniform travel of the actuator. j

2. In an air-gun, in combination, a pump, an air-storage reservoir, a magazine chamber aliially alined with the gun-barrel, a rotatable breech block interposed between said magazine and said barrel and provided with a passage adapted to register with the barrel ofthe rifle vwhen in iring position, teethformed upon anend of saidbreech-block, a reciprocable actuator provided with teeth adapted to engage said teeth upon the breech block, means whereby said breech-block may be turned until said passage registers vwith L the magazine, and means for `admitting. air I to said passage from said storage reservoir to discharge' a, projectile.

3.' In an air-gun, 1n combination, a pump,

an air-storage reservoir, a magazine chamber `aX1ally allned w1th the gun-barrel, a ro',-l

- tatable breech-block interposed between saidmagazine and said barrel andy provided with barrel and air reservoir associated with theA barrel, a rotary breech block -positioned between the barrel and reservoir, a bullet com-` partment communicating with the breech block, teethformed on the periphery of the projecting end of the breech block, and a rack bar;slidably associated with said 'air reservoirv adapted for engagement with the breech block teeth to rotate the breech blockV to cause the same to move vtoposition to receive a bullet. Signed at Seattle, Wash., Athis 14th day o fv y.

November, 1914:.

IWitnesses: p

E. PETERSON, M PIERRE BARNES..

1 a passage adapted to register with the barrel ARTHUR v. ,DICKEr j. 

